Police forces pair up to seize Nunavut-bound drugs

Three men arrested with weed, cannabis candies, hash

Here's a look at the marijuana, cannabis candies, hash and drug paraphernalia seized by the Ottawa Police Service Oct. 15 at the Ottawa airport. (HANDOUT PHOTO)

Here's what police in Nunavut seized Oct. 15 from a man getting off the Ottawa-Iqaluit flight: weed, cannabis candies and a few cans of Bud. (HANDOUT PHOTO)

A sizeable quantity of drugs on their way from Ottawa to Nunavut Oct. 15 never left the Ottawa airport and four pounds of marijuana ended its journey at the Iqaluit airport.

That’s due to a joint investigation from the RCMP’s federal operations section and the Ottawa Police Service, which resulted in the arrests of three Nunavut men.

Investigators had their eye on the men who were believed to be travelling between Igloolik and Ottawa with the intention of bringing marijuana back into Nunavut, the RCMP said Oct. 21 in a news release.

As a result of their investigation, OPS officers arrested Sebastian Kopak, 30, of Igloolik and Judah Palluq, 27, of Hall Beach Oct. 15 at the Ottawa airport.

About 1.3 kilograms (three pounds) of marijuana, about one kilogram (two pounds) of hash, some cannabis candies and trafficking supplies were seized from their luggage, police said.

Palluq faces seven counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking and Kopak faces two counts of possession for the purposes of trafficking.

Both men were released with conditions and an obligation to appear at later, at the Ottawa courthouse.

During the course of the investigation, a third man identified as Shawn Panipakutsuk, 27, of Hall Beach was arrested in Iqaluit Oct. 15 after getting off the flight from Ottawa to Iqaluit.

A search of his luggage yielded roughly 1.8 kilograms (four pounds) of marijuana and some cannabis candies which were then seized.

Panipakutsuk, charged with one count of possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, is scheduled to appear Jan. 5 at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit.

If you have any information on individuals or groups involved with illegal activities in your community, police encourage you to call your local RCMP detachment or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

This is the fourth drug seizure reported by the Nunavut RCMP this month:

•On Oct. 12, in Iqaluit, police seized $700 in cash, about a kilogram (more than two pounds) of marijuana, roughly a half a kilogram (one pound) of hashish, and a small amount of cocaine, arresting two Iqaluit men;

• On Oct. 9, also in Iqaluit, police seized 400 pills of methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, 1.1 pounds of marijuana and $1,095 in cash, arresting one Iqaluit man and a teenager; and,